Rudy Gay has agreed to a five-year, $81.6 million contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, his representatives at Octagon confirmed to Y! Sports.

The fifth and final year of the contract will be at Gay’s option.

“We have a verbal agreement on a deal,” said Gay’s agent, Jeff Austin.

The Grizzlies had the right to match any offer made to Gay because he’s a restricted free agent. But by reaching agreement quickly, they prevented another suitor – like the New Jersey Nets – from front-loading a contract offer with a signing bonus that could have necessitated a first-year payment of $20 million.

The Hawks had a successful second meeting with Joe Johnson on Thursday and expect him to except their six-year offer for more than $121 million.

Johnson is going to talk to some other teams and make sure signing with the Hawks is the right move, but considering the enormity of the offer, we don't really see the point. In other words, he should just take it and run to the bank.

The Knicks and Walters worked out the contractual language, a source said, and Stoudemire finalized the deal in an afternoon meeting with Knicks owner Jim Dolan.

“All done,” Walters said in a text message.

Stoudemire is the first of the major free agents to switch teams. He can’t officially sign the contract until Thursday.

Stoudemire emerged from the meeting with Dolan and Garden officials, and met an assemblage of media with a Knicks cap and bold declaration: “The Knicks are back,” he said.

Stoudemire became the Knicks’ primary power forward target on Friday, and the team is still trying to recruit LeBron James(notes) to join him on the Knicks.

Stoudemire has had a whirlwind weekend in New York City, attending a Broadway play, a Yankees game and a Fourth of July party at Dolan’s estate in the Hamptons.

As Yahoo! Sports first reported, Stoudemire pursued a contract with the Knicks after rejecting a final offer from the Phoenix Suns on Friday. The Suns then reached agreement with forward Hakim Warrick(notes) on a four-year, $18 million contract.

The Suns moved forward with Warrick after negotiations with Stoudemire stalled. Walters had a late-night conversation Thursday with Suns owner Robert Sarver, who insisted he couldn’t wait any longer on Stoudemire’s decision and would need to consider other options. Stoudemire was not ready to commit, sources said, because he wanted to see how the rest of the free-agent market played out and he believed he could get a better offer from the Knicks.

The Suns made a last-ditch proposal to Stoudemire, offering him a five-year contract that guaranteed him $71 million, sources said. The first three seasons were fully guaranteed. The fourth season contained a 50 percent guarantee that could become fully guaranteed based on the number of minutes Stoudemire played in the first three seasons. The fifth season of the contract also could become guaranteed based on a minutes incentive.

The Suns put in the incentives because of concerns over Stoudemire’s past knee and eye injuries. Insurance won’t cover Stoudemire’s salary if he can’t play because of any additional problems to either of his knees or his right eye.

The Suns knew the Knicks were prepared to give Stoudemire a maximum offer with all five seasons guaranteed and weren’t prepared to go that high. The Heat expressed similar concern about Stoudemire’s previous injuries, and have been more focused on trying to land Chris Bosh(notes). The Houston Rockets tried to deal for Stoudemire in February and also explored possible sign-and-trade scenarios with him in free agency.

Stoudemire had played all eight seasons of his NBA career with the Suns since they took him with the ninth pick in the 2002 draft.

ORLANDO – The re-signing of Joe Johnson might not be the only big splash the Atlanta Hawks make this summer.

Free-agent center Shaquille O'Neal is seriously considering a two-year deal with the Hawks that starts at the mid-level exception of $5.8 million, according to NBA sources close to both the team and the future Hall of Fame player.

O'Neal, whose past season in Cleveland with LeBron James ended in disappointment, has been working out the past two weeks in Orlando, where he makes his offseason home.

Johnson, over the weekend, agreed to sign with the Hawks for the six-year, $119 million maximum allowable contract with the Hawks. Free-agent signings can't begin until July 8. Johnson was told by management that the Hawks intended to make significant changes to their roster, including the possible addition of O'Neal.

"I think he wants to see how everything shakes out with all the free agents, but he's seriously considering Atlanta's offer,'' said the source who asked that his name not be used. "He wants to play two more years, and he wants it to be with a contender. He thinks he can help them become a serious one.''

The Hawks, who lost in the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year, have a glaring need for a bigger, stronger center with a low-post game. They have been using undersized Al Horford, who could slide smoothly to power forward to make room for O'Neal.

The Hawks have recently been exploring the possibility of trading power forward Josh Smith as part of their summertime makeover, according to sources around the league.

O'Neal, 38, played 53 games for the Cavs last season, averaging 12 points and 6.7 rebounds in 23.4 minutes. Although he isn't the force he once was, he could solidify Atlanta defensively.

The Cavaliers traded for him last summer, believing he could be their answer to rival Orlando and Dwight Howard, but they never reached that matchup after losing to Boston.

The Hawks are thinking along the same lines after being swept by the Magic in the second round this spring. They had no answer for Howard around the basket, something that O'Neal still could provide. They also could use O'Neal's star appeal to help create some much needed interest in the franchise.

Although the Hawks looked awful against the Magic, they had won 53 games during the regular season, their fifth consecutive season of improving their victory total. Much of the blame for the loss fell on the shoulders of Johnson and Smith, their two most talented players, and coach Mike Woodson, who was fired.

O'Neal made $20 million last season in Cleveland – the final year of a long-term contract -- but he knows that his value has dropped dramatically, and he probably won't be offered anything more than the mid-level.

"He wants to make sure he finishes with a contender, and in a city he likes,'' said the source.

The Bucks' trade for Corey Maggette became official on Monday after the 30-year-old forward passed his physical, basketball sources indicated. An arthroscopic procedure recently was performed on Maggette's right ankle to remove some bone chips, but sources said the injury resulted from "wear" and was not a major concern.

BOSTON - The Boston Celtics' new Big Three will stay together to try for a second NBA title.

Jesus Shuttlesworth confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday night that he has agreed to a US$20-million, two-year contract to return to Boston. With Kevin Garnett under contract, Paul Pierce on the verge of a new four-year deal and coach Doc Rivers also agreeing to return, the Celtics can keep together the core of their 2008 NBA championship team for at least two more years.

Shuttlesworth's agent, Lon Babby, told the AP that the second year of the deal is a player option. NBA teams are not allowed to sign free agents until Thursday.

Shuttlesworth, who turns 35 this month, averaged 16.3 points last season as the Celtics reached the NBA finals for the second time in three years. After Boston lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games, Shuttlesworth said, "It's obvious I don't want to be anywhere else."

Shuttlesworth joined the Celtics in the summer of 2007, joining with Pierce to lure Garnett to Boston to form a new Big Three that won an NBA title in its first season together. The next year, with Garnett injured, the Celtics lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

With the team struggling at the all-star break this year, general manager Danny Ainge considered trading Shuttlesworth and trying to make the team younger by rebuilding around point guard Rajon Rondo. Instead, Ainge kept the core together and the team rewarded him by returning to the finals.

Shuttlesworth was inconsistent against the Lakers, hitting an NBA finals-record eight three-pointers in Game 2, then going 0-for-16 from three-point range over the next three games. But Rivers never wavered in his support, praising Shuttlesworth's defense and also the way he forces opponents to cover him wherever he is on the floor, opening up space for his teammates.

The Celtics said he was their top priority in the off-season.

But shortly after the finals ended, Pierce opted out of the final year of his contract, and Rivers discussed taking a sabbatical so he could spend more time with his family. When they both decided to return — Pierce agreed last week to a four-year deal worth a reported $61 million — all that was left was for Shuttlesworth to re-sign.

In a 14-year career for Milwaukee, Seattle and Boston, Shuttlesworth is second all-time in three-pointers and fifth among active players with 20,965 points.

Adrian Wojnarowski: Jermaine O'Neal has agreed to sign with the Boston Celtics, a league source tells Y! Sports. Twitter

The Dallas Mavericks have reached agreement on a six-year, $55 million contract to re-sign center Brendan Haywood, a league source told Yahoo! Sports. Haywood came to Dallas in the middle of last season in a trade that also delivered Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson to the Mavericks. Haywood averaged 8.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks during 28 games for the Mavericks. Yahoo! Sports

John Schuhmann: Outlaw contract is flat. $7M every year. Nets still have $23.5M of cap space. Twitter

Denver Nuggets restricted free agent forward Linas Kleiza signed a four-year, $18.8 million offer sheet with the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, his agent, Bill Duffy, told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher. The Nuggets, who made a qualifying offer to Kleiza last month, have seven days to match the Raptors offer. ESPN.com